Web Design and Development: What Should You Consider?

It’s become common in the world of e-commerce to hire third-party, project-based providers in design, development, and marketing projects. Anyone can have a web site nowadays. It is not exclusive to the Fortune 500 companies, but also for professionals and small business owners as well.

There is a common best practice to coping up with the demand for this service: outsource all web-related tasks, secure an unbreakable contract, and supervise the development. This way, other aspects of a business is handled more.

But let’s not rush things, though. There are things we need to figure out before we hire someone.

First, come to terms with the fact that there are different-types of website-building professionals. A single-person probably won’t be enough to do the job. So there are:

Web Designers – They decide the best layout, graphics, text, and navigation for the site. Graphic Designers create graphics, colors, and fonts.

Web Developers – They ponder over the design and write the code to implement it.

Internet Marketer – They are also known as SEO specialists, and they help increase traffic to web sites through Search Engine Optimization.

Next, be wise when choosing a web development service. Do not hire the first favorable candidate. Why? Because unfortunately, there have been reported scams that you should be very careful not to fall trap on:

Scam #1: Disappearing Act.
There’s a designer who offers good low prices and owns a really nice portfolio. Communication takes place by e-mail, sometimes even by phone. Afterwards, they give a quote for the “work.” And once they received the deposit, communication is cut.

Scam #2: Faker.
This one’s pretty straight-up. Ask for a 5-star design, they provide a 2. Or, there are times that these “fakers” use a cheap or free web site template, then pocket the payment. That’s it, goodbye.

So see, choosing a web developer takes time and caution. There are certain qualities that we need to look for to identify whether they are legit or not. Here’s a list of things one must do before hiring a web-building professional:

Ask for references. Don’t be content with vague answers. Ask for specifics. Customer satisfaction is crucial in all types of business. Check their previous clients’ web sites. Do they pass the standards? Research is important here. Talking to the people they’ve worked with before may even be necessary.

Be realistic about the price. Sure, there are those who will promise a website design for $80, but that does not mean the quality is going to be top notch. What’s that saying, “You often get what you pay for,” right? That said, compare prices. Don’t pay $5,000 for a $400 job.

Take communication and customer service into consideration. Do they tend to make clients wait for their reply? Are they often late in providing details that is asked for? Normally, this is already considered a red flag. Seriously, who would want to work with someone who is hard to communicate with?

Be ready with questions. Visualize the project from beginning to end. Picture the obstacles that might surface. Be sure to cover all the bases and try to get honest and uncomplicated answers.

There we go. Take these tips carefully in outsourcing a web development project. Just remember to tread cautiously out there. And when in doubt, seek a provider that is both trusted and experienced.